Skip to content

Research Highlights

Oceanus Magazine

Body snatchers are on the hunt for mud crabs

October 1, 2025

WHOI biologist Carolyn Tepolt discusses the biological arms race between a parasite and its host

Ostrander

Fires, floods, and forgotten places

August 28, 2025

Finding home with author Madeline Ostrander

shells

Ancient seas, future insights

July 10, 2025

WHOI scientists study the paleo record to understand how the ocean will look in a warmer climate

WHOI biologist Laela Sayigh attaches a suction-cup hydrophone to a dolphin in Sarasota Bay

Whistle! Chirp! Squeak! What does it mean?

July 1, 2025

Avatar Alliance Foundation donation helps WHOI researcher decode dolphin communication

Sonic Sharks

April 23, 2025

The predators may not be a silent as once thought

News Releases

Tiny Protozoa May Hold Key to World Water Safety

December 9, 2010

Right now, it looks a little like one of those plastic containers you might fill with gasoline when your car has run dry. But Scott Gallager is not headed to the nearest Mobil station. The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) biologist has other, grander plans for his revolutionary Swimming Behavioral Spectrophotometer (SBS), which employs one-celled protozoa to detect toxins in water sources.

Innovative Tagging Technique May Help Researchers Better Protect Fish Stocks

August 7, 2007

Simon Thorrold, a fish ecologist from WHOI, has received a new research grant from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation to use harmless chemical tags to track the dispersal of the larvae of coral reef fishes in the western Pacific Ocean.

Explorers to Use New Robotic Vehicles to Hunt for Life and Hydrothermal Vents on Arctic Seafloor

June 21, 2007

Researchers will probe the Gakkel Ridge during expedition that begins on July 1.

Sea Urchin Genome Yields New Understanding of “Chemical Defensome”

November 13, 2006

The Sea Urchin Genome Sequencing Consortium, a group of 240 researchers from more than 70 institutions in 11 countries, recently announced the sequencing of the California purple sea urchin, Strongylocentrotus purpuratus.

Beaked Whales Perform Extreme Dives to Hunt Deepwater Prey

October 19, 2006

A study of ten beaked whales of two poorly understood species shows they dive much deeper and longer than reported for any other air-breathing species, a finding of particular interest since beaked whales stranded during naval sonar exercises have been reported to have symptoms of decompression sickness.

News & Insights

Florida’s ocean economy depends on science

August 29, 2025

WHOI’s Dennis McGillicuddy on why ocean life matters deeply to the Sunshine State

Valentine’s Day Courtship Tips from the Ocean

February 10, 2025

Are you an ocean lover? Go a little deeper with these courtship tips from beneath the waves!

Recognizing Massachusetts Right Whale Day

April 24, 2023

April 24 marks the first-ever Right Whale Day in Massachusetts. WHOI biologist and veterinarian Michael Moore recently met with the resident who brought this special recognition about– and explains why it’s important to raise awareness about the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale.

Critically Endangered North Atlantic Right Whales Getting Smaller, New Research Finds

June 10, 2021

A report out this week in Current Biology reveal that critically endangered North Atlantic right whales are up to three feet shorter than 40 years ago. This startling conclusion reinforces what scientists have suspected: even when entanglements do not lead directly to the death of North Atlantic right whales, they can have lasting effects on the imperiled population that may now number less than 400 animals. Further, females that are entangled while nursing produce smaller calves.

right whales

Rare Drone video shows critically endangered North Atlantic right whales

May 10, 2021

May 10, 2021   During a joint research trip on February 28 in Cape Cod Bay, Mass., WHOI whale trauma specialist Michael Moore, National Geographic photographer Brian Skerry, and scientists from New England Aquarium, witnessed a remarkable biological event: North…

Scroll To Top